Rupert “Bert” Minton, 72, who filed the lawsuit against Exxon Mobil, was a repair supervisor at Newport News Shipbuilding from 1966 to 1977. In addition to this he also worked as ship fitter for seven years before. According to him he worked on 17 Exxon oil tankers, during which he was exposed to asbestos and contracted mesothelioma. He told that he got only two years of his life left due to the disease caused by exposure of this deadly fiber.

The Newport News jury awarded Minton $12.4 million in compensatory damages and hit Exxon Mobile with $12.5 million in punitive damages. The decision took a three-week trial and a day of jury deliberation. Exxon Mobil is expected to appeal which may stretch the process out beyond Minton’s life expectancy.

Asbestos was a very common material that was used in construction and in army due to its excellent heat and electrical insulation but later on it was found that inhalation of asbestos fibers lead to many deadly diseases and mesothelioma is one of them. It is predominant in veterans.

Mesothelioma is a very rare form of cancer that is caused due to inhalation of asbestos fibers. These fibers on inhalation lodge themselves into the linings of the lungs and this leads to development of scar tissue which in turn form cancerous cells. The worst part of this kind of disease is that it has got very long latency period, in majority of cases the symptoms of this kind of disease takes decades to present itself. Asbestos was used widely till late 1970’s; its use was on peak in 1973. In mid-1980 the hazards associated with asbestos were known which led to its abolition of many products of asbestos by government. The mesothelioma deaths in USA are increasing day by day. According to U.S. Lawsuits over mesothelioma from asbestos exposure is the longest running mass tort in U.S. history. The first case was filed in 1929 which has been followed by 600,000 mesothelioma lawsuits till date against 6,000 defendants after being diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis or other asbestos-related diseases.

EPA quotes that the soil at the Astoria Marine Construction Co. site is contaminated by paint chips, sandblasted off ships and petroleum-based products which may prove to be harmful for the residents and employees both. These materials have led to contamination for Lewis and Clark River and the Jeffers Slough, in the Columbia River basin. Oregon Department of Environmental Quality was unsuccessful in getting the company to enter a voluntary cleanup program which resulted in listing of company in the federal Superfund cleanup sites. According to company officials they don’t have the resources to fight proposed EPA listing. This company used to build wooden Navy minesweepers during World War II.

The Klamath Falls site involves the North Ridge Estates which contains asbestos which came from the remains from roofing, siding and tiles used to construct 82 buildings at the Marine Recuperation Barracks during the mid-1940s. This building was the home of Oregon Institute of Technology until 1964. Large number of buildings were made and demolished in this property and the asbestos was dumped in waste piles and burial pits but was exposed due to corrosion. This contamination was removed from 2003 to 2009 but according to reports of EPA, the asbestos was not permanently eliminated.

At 88 he was sharp enough to recall the memories of the war time. According to Chlapowski, on the day of attack as he was getting in to his bunk he saw the roof on Hickam Field hangar go up and it looked like a bomb had dropped and blew it off , it was followed by firing of airplane with meatballs on the wings. According to Chlapowski a supervisor asked him to send a message that there was no drill. “Pearl Harbor is being attacked by the forces of the Imperial government of Japan. This is no drill.”

Chlapowski was honorably discharged from the Navy after four years of his service. He and his wife Betty moved to Montana in 1946 where they raised seven children. Chlapowski cherished his time speaking with others about his war experience in the hope that his message of sacrifice and service to his country will live on through others and this behavior of Chlapowski was just opposite to the other people who survived Pearl Harbor who diminished slowly.

In December he quoted that “You’ll never forget it no matter what and at this age, not going to be too many memories. This may be one of my last little spiels I’m going to give to anyone,” he had got seven children, 10 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

The visitation was scheduled from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 20 at Smith’s Downtown Funeral Chapel. The funeral Mass  took place at 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 21 at Little Flower Catholic Church and interment will be at Yellowstone County Veterans Cemetery in Laurel. According to his family any donations may be sent to the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars or another veteran’s organization of the donor’s choice.

Ed Chlapowski died just a few weeks after being diagnosed with the horrible disease named mesothelioma cancer.

In the lawsuit the place of residence of plaintiffs has not been mentioned. The persons who will represent them are Michael J. O’Malley of Carey, Danis and Lowe in Belleville and by Jeffrey J. Lowe of Carey, Danis and Lowe in St. Louis. Devin C. McNulty of Williams, Kherkher, Hart and Boundas in Houston will serve of counsel. Among them J. O’Malley has been retired recently after serving in St. Clair County circuit as judge. The plaintiffs alleged that the companies in which Emil T.Kainer worked were responsible for his  exposure to asbestos which finally led to development of mesothelioma cancer in him.

According to the complaint Emil T.Kainer worked as electrician from the period of 1953 to 1996 and he also served in US army. There may have been exposure to asbestos in army and if any veteran is exposed to asbestos then chances of his survival are very low.

The plaintiffs blamed the company for its failure to give Emil T.Kainer reasonable care and caution. The asbestos disease resulted in his inability to carry out his jobs which lead to lost of his earnings which he could have earned if he had continued the job in addition to this he had to incur medical cost and suffered great physical pain and mental anguish. They plaintiffs also said that due to his death his family members have been deprived of his companionship and society. The plaintiffs are seeking a judgment which can give $100,000 as compensation and $50,000 as punitive and exemplary damage. They also seek a penalty which could be sufficient to punish the defending companies and to prevent them from repeating their actions.

More than 10,000 9/11 workers have even sued the companies handling the cleanup of the lower Manhattan following the attacks. The workers claimed that their illnesses are directly related to the toxic substances including asbestos that they had inhaled during their clean-up operation.

Asbestos is carcinogenic and causes fatal diseases like lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer affecting the protective lining of the abdomen, heart, lungs and chest. It is very difficult to diagnose and treat as it does not show any symptoms till stage three and four.

In similar way before 1970, asbestos on navy ships have been used liberally to act as fire retardant. This has increased the asbestos risk for veterans and the possibility of the contracting mesothelioma as the Government and the others involved had failed in their duty to provide a proper protective gear to them.

In the construction and advanced renovation of its general and war ships, the U.S. Navy and the country’s commercial maritime industry has largely made high use of all types of asbestos on navy ships. Shipbuilders and laborers who involved for the all kind of repair or refurbishment are often in the status of high danger of  asbestos exposure and inhaling all types of asbestos particles which cause asbestos risk for veterans. The two new specifications released by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) minimize the environmental problems and the danger to workers assigned with dismantling the vessels.

There are effective methods provided as per one of the new ISO documents, ISO/PAS 30007:2010, “measures to prevent asbestos emission and exposure during ship recycling,” in order to minimize the common dangers of asbestos generally during ship recycling by reducing both the release of asbestos into the environment and asbestos exposure to workers. The other specification (PAS), 30006:2010, provides diagrams to show the location of hazardous materials on vessels. These new standards help to ensure when ships are being recycled. Both these specifications help to provide market expectations related to environment, safety, health and welfare matters in the ship recycling industry.

The Leslie Controls unit of Circor International Inc. (CIR) is facing asbestos lawsuits worth $18.7 million for products, such as control valves, made with asbestos used in U.S. Navy ships between the 1940s and 1980s. This caused asbestos-related diseases, according to the Wall Street Journal. As a result, CIR has to pay millions of dollars to defend Leslie.

Every year, 2,000 to 3,000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma or a rare form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, as well as lung cancer and asbestosis, as per the statics released by the National Cancer Institute.

Circor’s chairman and CEO, Bill Higgins, stated that “The cost of this defense has exceeded the profits generated by Leslie’s operations, and we have been considering for some time a range of strategic alternatives that would enable us to permanently eliminate this risk.” In the second quarter of last year, Leslie Controls accounted for just 5.5 percent of CIR’s total revenues. CIR has set up a $75 million trust to pay for the asbestos claims in the present and in the future.

A company that used to supply asbestos based insulation and other products has been held 20 percent responsible in this case. The rest of the defendants, as mentioned above, were 17 people that have had professional relationships with the deceased were held accountable. However, an appeal was forwarded and a retrial will be held to determine the exact cause of Mr. Collins’ death. It is pretty clear that asbestos on navy ships has caused the disease, but the court wants to establish exactly who should be held responsible for the death. An asbestos risk representative for veterans association believes that the Navy should be held responsible because they didn’t provide with the necessary safety equipment. This just goes to show that even welders are exposed to asbestos, so it really is a great idea to wear protective gear.

Ulysses Collins died of mesothelioma five years ago. He had worked in naval shipyards from 1960-73 and 1976-94. 17 entities were ordered to share the damages in the asbestos lawsuit that obtained a jury verdict of $10 million. One of the entities that was allocated 20 percent of fault, Plant Insulation Company, appealed to the state First District Court of Appeals on the exclusion of the Navy from the list of those responsible.

In the words of the appellate court decision, “Plant argues the Navy’s immunity is essentially one from suit and does not mean the service owes no duty of care as to its enlisted personnel and civilian employees and thus cannot be characterized as a ‘tortfeasor’ for purposes of Proposition 51. Plaintiffs contend sovereign immunity is based on the historical adage ‘the King can do no wrong’ and therefore the Navy’s actions cannot be ‘wrongful’ and thus no ‘fault’ can be allocated to the service.”

The statement of the court that, “We agree with Plant and conclude the Navy is properly included among those entities to which fault may be apportioned in an asbestos case,” may have far-reaching consequences. Attorney Mark Behrens of Shook Hardy & Bacon calls the verdict “significant.”